Vanity Karma: Ecclesiastes, the Bhagavad-gita, and the meaning of life

This cross-cultural exploration in self-realization and spiritual awakening brings India's most celebrated classic of wisdom into dialogue with the most radically powerful wisdom book of the Hebrew scriptures.

Jayavaita Swami writes, "As wisdom meets wisdom, as found in these two books--one biblical, the other from spiritual India--we see the daily issues of our world in a different way as we rise above them to consider what life is for, what ultimate profit we can gain from it, what meaning, what happiness, what lasting value. And as we read, we grow in wisdom ourselves."

Vanity Karma includes the full text of Ecclesiastes in a modern English rendering, with an illuminating commentary on each verse.

The plain-language commentary is followed by meticulous notes, making Vanity Karma valuable for the seeker, for the scholar, and for anyone who has ever asked, "What is the meaning of my life?"

Vanity Karma is the winner of the 2016 Benjamin Franklin gold award given by the Independent Book Publishers Association for the year's best book in the category "religion."